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Opinion: As 2030 approaches, more must be done for Merced County students
Reading Time: 3 minutes The year 2030 may sound like it’s far away, but for a lot of students here in Merced County, it means important parts of their educational path are coming up fast. For some, it...
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What does Merced need most? City council candidates make their case
Reading Time: 6 minutes From dark streets in south Merced to whether a massive data center belongs in the city at all, candidates for Merced City Council Districts 2 and 6 laid out competing visions...
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Opinion: Don’t move Merced’s future out of reach
Reading Time: 3 minutes Dear Members of the Merced County Board of Supervisors, Merced County is approaching a decision that will shape our region for generations. For years, we have been shown plans...
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Valley groups voice opposition to High-Speed Rail Authority’s plan to move...
Reading Time: 4 minutes A coalition of Valley groups wants to put the brakes on a proposal to relocate Merced’s planned downtown high-speed rail station. This week, the nonprofit organization...
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As midterm nears, election officials place emphasis on ballot drop boxes
Reading Time: 2 minutes This story was published in collaboration with KVPR. Ballots will begin to hit voter mailboxes starting Oct. 5, and elections officials in Merced County are urging voters to...
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The disappearing of the Valley’s newspapers is a crisis — not the end of...
Reading Time: 4 minutes Editor’s Note: The following is an editorial written by Marijke Rowland, editor of The Modesto Focus, sister publication of The Merced FOCUS. When I worked for The McClatchy...
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Where Valley schools land in newest U.S. News and World Report college rankings
Reading Time: 2 minutes Annual rankings are out for the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges Report, and UC Merced made historic rankings for some of its programs. The U.S. News & World...
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‘It’s triage’: California’s next governor will face destabilizing surge in...
Reading Time: 5 minutes By the time Democrat Xavier Becerra left Washington, D.C., more Americans than ever had health insurance, owing partly to his work over the years to pass, defend, and expand the...
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Opinion: Valleycrats are missing the mark on youth turnout. Young, local...
Reading Time: 4 minutes Young. For the current crop of Democratic politicians in the Valley, otherwise known as “Valleycrats,” this specific word has rapidly gained its weight in gold. We’ve seen it...
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Some Valley schools see kindergarten vaccine rates for measles fall short of...
Reading Time: 5 minutes Amid conflicting messages over the safety of vaccines, cases of measles have been on the rise both in California and the U.S. this year compared to 2025. And in the San Joaquin...
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California high-speed rail consultants flew first-class, visited bars and a...
Reading Time: 4 minutes This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. California’s High Speed Rail Authority paid nearly $600,000 in unallowable travel expenses to...
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‘This is the magical part.’ How historians are uncovering the mystery behind...
Reading Time: 6 minutes This story was published in collaboration with KVPR. It was a bustling afternoon in the heart of downtown Merced, and Kern County historian Mike McCoy craned his neck to stare...
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Merced artists push to pause $10,000 mural projects as council questions how...
Reading Time: 8 minutes A push by Merced artists to pause two $10,000 mural projects revealed confusion over how the projects were shaped and what the city’s Arts and Culture Advisory Commission was...
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At Merced College, tension remains over free speech following media reports
Reading Time: 5 minutes This story was published as part of a series called Paper Trails and Transfers in collaboration with KVPR. During an academic senate meeting last month, multiple Merced College...
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The Valley’s next generation of farmers is learning how AI is changing the ag...
Reading Time: 4 minutes Editor’s Note: This story was produced by the Climate Solutions Studio, a project of the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative and its partner newsrooms. Inside Jason...
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Brittney Harris, aspiring nurse, remembered for her grit during Merced...
Reading Time: 3 minutes Passionate. Goofy. Loved. These were the words people used to describe Brittney Harris during a vigil Sunday evening in front of the Lesher Student Services Center at Merced...
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Opinion: Even if Rep. Adam Gray doesn’t have to host a town hall, he should...
Reading Time: 2 minutes Editor’s Note: The following op-ed was written in response to a column written by Rep. Adam Gray. Congressman Gray’s column was a response to a story published by The Merced...
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New Atwater city manager begins role, hopes for improved city collaboration
Reading Time: 2 minutes In her first week as Atwater’s new city manager, Janell Martin prioritized meeting with city leaders and community members. The Atwater City Council appointed Martin in late...
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‘We’re promotoras 24 hours a day.’ These Valley health workers are trusted...
Reading Time: 11 minutes Long before Antonia Sierra-Martinez knew the term “promotora de salud,” she knew what it meant to show up when somebody needed help. She grew up in Santa María, a small farming...
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The Valley has 1,300+ fast-food drive-through restaurants. What do they mean...
Reading Time: 12 minutes The distinct fragrance of automotive exhaust hangs in the air in the parking lot of a popular commercial corner in north Fresno during a recent weekday lunch rush. Standing...
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